Consolidated price level expansion

ABSTRACT

Certain embodiments provide consolidated price level expansion. Data associated with the individual price levels represented by a consolidated price level is expanded and provided through an expanded consolidated price level interface. In certain embodiments, the expanded consolidated price level interface includes a pop-up interface. In certain embodiments, the expanded consolidated price level interface includes an in-line interface. In certain embodiments, an order may be entered using the expanded consolidated price level interface.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 13/927,797, filed Jun. 26, 2013, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,688,568,which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/843,618,filed Jul. 26, 2010, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,510,206, and entitled“CONSOLIDATED PRICE LEVEL EXPANSION,” the contents of each of which arefully incorporated herein by reference for all purposes.

BACKGROUND

The presently described technology is directed towards electronictrading systems. More particularly, certain embodiments are directedtowards consolidated price level expansion in a trading interface.

An electronic trading system generally includes a client device incommunication with an electronic exchange that may serve as a host forthe client device. Typically, the electronic trading system provides forelectronically matching orders to buy and sell tradeable objects to betraded. A tradeable object is an item that may be traded. Stocks,options, futures contracts, securities, and commodities are a fewexamples of tradeable objects.

The electronic exchange transmits market data to the client device. Themarket data may include, for example, price data, market depth data,last traded quantity data, data related to a market for the tradeableobject, and/or combinations thereof. The client device receives marketdata from the electronic exchange.

In some electronic trading systems, a client device receives andprocesses market data without displaying the market data on a displaydevice. However, in other electronic trading systems, the client devicedisplays processed market data on a display device. The client devicemay include software that creates a trading screen. In general, atrading screen enables a user to participate in an electronic tradingsession. For example, a trading screen may enable a user to view marketdata, submit a trade order to the electronic exchange, obtain a marketquote, monitor a position, and/or combinations thereof.

In some electronic trading systems, the client device sends trade ordersto the electronic exchange. However, in other electronic tradingsystems, other devices, such as server side devices, are responsible forsending the one or more trade orders to the electronic exchange. Uponreceiving a trade order, the electronic exchange enters the trade orderinto an exchange order book and attempts to match quantity of the tradeorder with quantity of one or more contra-side trade orders. By way ofexample, a sell order is contra-side to a buy order with the same price.Similarly, a buy order is contra-side to a sell order with the sameprice. Unmatched quantity of a trade order is held in the exchange orderbook until quantity of a trade order is matched by the electronicexchange. Unmatched quantity of a trade order may also be removed fromthe order book when a trade order is cancelled, either by the clientdevice or electronic exchange. Upon matching quantity of the tradeorder, the electronic exchange may send a confirmation to the clientdevice that the quantity of the trade order was matched.

A trading screen may display a number of price levels and theoutstanding bid or ask quantities corresponding to those price levels.While the market may include outstanding bid and ask quantities at amultitude of different price levels, the trading screen may not bephysically large enough (and/or a trader may not want to provide enoughscreen area) to accommodate displaying all of the different price levelsand their outstanding bid or ask quantities. Thus, a trading screentypically displays a range of price levels (and the correspondingoutstanding quantity) around the inside market.

However, displaying a small range of price levels around the insidemarket may provide a trader with a narrow view of the market. The tradermay view the market depth around the inside market, but the trader maynot be able to see the outstanding market depth at price levels furtheraway from the inside market.

SUMMARY

The embodiments described herein include, but are not limited to,various devices, systems, methods, and computer program products.

Certain embodiments provide consolidated price level expansion. Dataassociated with the individual price levels represented by aconsolidated price level is expanded and provided through an expandedconsolidated price level interface. In certain embodiments, the expandedconsolidated price level interface includes a pop-up interface. Incertain embodiments, the expanded consolidated price level interfaceincludes an in-line interface. In certain embodiments, an order may beentered using the expanded consolidated price level interface.

Certain embodiments provide a method including: displaying consolidatedprice level data for a consolidated price level, receiving a command,generating an expanded consolidated price level interface in response tothe command, and displaying the expanded consolidated price levelinterface. The consolidated price level represents at least two pricelevels of a tradeable object. The consolidated price level data includesconsolidated data for the at least two price levels. The expandedconsolidated price level interface includes un-consolidated dataassociated with each of the at least two price levels of theconsolidated price level.

Certain embodiments provide a method including: displaying consolidatedprice level data for a consolidated price level and displaying anexpanded consolidated price level interface. The consolidated pricelevel represents at least two price levels of a tradeable object. Theconsolidated price level data includes consolidated data for the atleast two price levels. The expanded consolidated price level interfaceincludes a subset of the un-consolidated data associated with each ofthe at least two price levels of the consolidated price level.

Other embodiments are described below. In addition, modifications may bemade to the described embodiments without departing from the spirit orscope of the inventions.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Example embodiments are described herein with reference to the followingdrawings.

FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of an electronic trading system inwhich certain embodiments may be employed.

FIGS. 2A-2B illustrate trading interfaces with un-consolidated pricelevels.

FIG. 2C illustrates the trading interface shown in FIG. 2A indicatingthe price levels to be grouped using a particular price consolidationtechnique.

FIGS. 3A-3B illustrate trading interfaces with consolidated price levelsin which certain embodiments may be employed.

FIGS. 4-9 illustrate trading interfaces according to certainembodiments.

FIG. 10 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary client deviceaccording to an embodiment.

FIG. 11 illustrates a block diagram for an example system according toan embodiment.

FIG. 12 illustrates a flowchart of a method according to an embodiment.

The foregoing summary, as well as the following detailed description,will be better understood when read in conjunction with the drawingswhich show certain embodiments. The drawings are for the purpose ofillustrating certain embodiments, but it should be understood that thepresent inventions are not limited to the arrangements andinstrumentality shown in the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION I. Example Electronic Trading System

FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of an electronic trading system 100in which certain embodiments may be employed. The system 100 includes aclient device 110, a gateway 120, and an electronic exchange 130. Theclient device 110 is in communication with the gateway 120. The gateway120 is in communication with the exchange 130.

As used herein, the phrase “in communication with” may include in directcommunication and indirect communication through one or moreintermediary components.

In operation, the client device 110 may send orders to buy or selltradeable objects at the exchange 130. For example, a user may utilizethe client device 110 to send the orders. The orders are sent throughthe gateway 120 to the exchange 130. In addition, market data is sentfrom the exchange 130 through the gateway 120 to the client device 110.The user may also utilize the client device 110 to monitor this marketdata and base a decision to send an order for a tradeable object on themarket data.

A tradeable object is anything which can be traded with a quantityand/or a price. For example, financial products such as stocks, options,bonds, futures, currency, warrants, funds derivatives, securities,commodities, traded events, goods, and collections and/or combinationsof these may be tradeable objects. A tradeable object may be “real” or“synthetic.” A real tradeable object includes products that are listedby an exchange. A synthetic tradeable object includes products that aredefined by the user and are not listed by an exchange. For example, asynthetic tradeable object may include a combination of real (or othersynthetic) products such as a synthetic spread created by a traderutilizing a client device 110.

The client device 110 may include one or more electronic computingplatforms such as a hand-held device, laptop, desktop computer,workstation with a single or multi-core processor, server with multipleprocessors, and/or cluster of computers, for example.

The client device 110 is generally owned, operated, controlled,programmed by, configured by, or otherwise used by a user. As usedherein, the phrase “user” may include, but is not limited to, a human(for example, a trader) or an electronic trading device (for example,including a processor and memory or an algorithmic trading system). Oneor more users may be involved in the ownership, operation, control,programming, configuration, or other use, for example.

The client device 110 may include one or more trading applications. Thetrading application(s) may, for example, process market data byarranging and displaying the market data in trading and chartingwindows. This processing may be based on user preferences, for example.The trading application(s) may include an automated trading tool such asan automated spread trading tool, for example.

The client device 110 may include an electronic trading workstation, aportable trading device, an algorithmic trading or “black-box” system,an embedded trading system, and/or an automated trading tool, forexample. For example, the client device 110 may be a computing systemrunning a copy of X_TRADER®, an electronic trading platform provided byTrading Technologies International, Inc. of Chicago, Ill. As anotherexample, the client device 110 may be a computing device running anautomated trading tool such as Autospreader® and/or Autotrader™, alsoprovided by Trading Technologies International, Inc.

The client device 110 is adapted to send orders to buy or sell atradeable object. The client device 110 may also be adapted to cancelorders, change orders, and/or query an exchange, for example.

The orders sent by the client device 110 may be sent at the request of auser or automatically, for example. For example, a trader may utilize anelectronic trading workstation to place an order for a particulartradeable object, manually providing various parameters for the ordersuch as an order price and/or quantity. As another example, an automatedtrading tool may calculate one or more parameters for an order andautomatically send the order. In some instances, an automated tradingtool may prepare the order to be sent but not actually send it withoutconfirmation from the user.

In certain embodiments, the client device 110 includes a user interface.The user interface may include one or more display devices forpresenting a text-based or graphical interface of a trading applicationto a user, for example. For example, the display devices may includecomputer monitors, hand-held device displays, projectors, and/ortelevisions. The user interface may be used by the user to specify orreview parameters for an order using a trading application. The userinterface may include one or more input devices for receiving input froma user, for example. For example, the input devices may include akeyboard, trackball, two or three-button mouse, and/or touch screen. Theuser interface may include other devices for interacting with a user.For example, information may be aurally provided to a user through aspeaker and/or received through a microphone.

In certain embodiments, a trading application may include one or moretrading screens to enable a trader to interact with one or more markets.Trading screens may enable traders to obtain and view marketinformation, set order entry parameters, enter and cancel orders, and/ormonitor positions while implementing various trading strategies, forexample. For example, a trading application may receive information(such as bid prices, bid quantities, ask prices, ask quantities, pricesand quantities for past sales, and/or other market related information)from exchange 130 which, in turn, may be displayed with a user interfaceof client device 110. Based on the received information, the tradingscreen may display a range of price levels and corresponding bid and askquantities for the price levels in regard to tradeable objects. In orderto provide the trader with pertinent trading information, the tradingscreen may display a range of prices (and the corresponding bid and askquantities) around the inside market. The information may becontinuously or regularly provided to the trading application, whichallows the trading application to update the trading screen with currentmarket information. A trader may use the trading screen to place buy andsell orders for tradeable objects or to otherwise trade the tradeableobjects based on the displayed information, for example.

Trading screens may display one or more trading tools. Trading tools areelectronic tools that allow, assist with, and/or facilitate electronictrading. Exemplary trading tools include, but are not be limited to,charts, trading ladders, order entry tools, automated trading tools,automated spreading tools, risk management tools, order parameter tools,order entry systems, market grids, fill windows, and market orderwindows, combinations thereof, other electronic tools used for trading,preparing to trade, or managing trades.

In certain embodiments, the orders from the client device 110 are sentto the exchange 130 through the gateway 120. The client device 110 maycommunicate with the gateway 120 using a local area network, a wide areanetwork, a virtual private network, a T1 line, a T3 line, an ISDN line,a point-of-presence, and/or the Internet, for example.

The gateway 120 is adapted to communicate with the client device 110 andthe exchange 130. The gateway 120 facilitates communication between theclient device 110 and the exchange 130. For example, the gateway 120 mayreceive orders from the client device 110 and transmit the orders to theexchange 130. As another example, the gateway 120 may receive marketdata from the exchange 130 and transmit the market data to the clientdevice 110.

In certain embodiments, the gateway 120 performs processing on datacommunicated between the client device 110 and the exchange 130. Forexample, the gateway 120 may process an order received from the clientdevice 110 into a data format acceptable by the exchange 130. Similarly,the gateway 120 may transform market data in an exchange-specific formatreceived from the exchange 130 into a format understood by the clientdevice 110. The processing of the gateway 120 may also include trackingorders from the client device 110 and updating the status of the orderbased on fill confirmations received from the exchange 130, for example.As another example, the gateway 120 may coalesce market data from theexchange 130 and provide it to the client device 120.

In certain embodiments, the gateway 120 provides services other thanprocessing data communicated between the client device 110 and theexchange 130. For example, the gateway 120 may provide risk processing.

The gateway 120 may include one or more electronic computing platformssuch as a hand-held device, laptop, desktop computer, workstation with asingle or multi-core processor, server with multiple processors, and/orcluster of computers, for example.

The gateway 120 may include one or more gateway applications. Thegateway application(s) may, for example, handle order processing andmarket data processing. This processing may be based on userpreferences, for example.

In certain embodiments, the gateway 120 communicates with the exchange130 using a local area network, a wide area network, a virtual privatenetwork, a T1 line, a T3 line, an ISDN line, a point-of-presence, and/orthe Internet, for example.

In general, the exchange 130 may be owned, operated, controlled, or usedby an exchange entity. Exemplary exchange entities include the LondonInternational Financial Futures and Options Exchange (“LIFFE”), theChicago Board of Trade (“CBOT”), and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange(“CME”). The exchange 130 may be an electronic matching system, such asa computer, server, or other computing device, that is adapted to allowtradeable objects, for example, offered for trading by the exchange, tobe bought and sold.

The exchange 130 is adapted to match orders to buy and sell tradeableobjects. The tradeable objects may be listed for trading by the exchange130. The orders may include orders received from the client device 110,for example. Orders may be received from the client device 110 throughthe gateway 120, for example. In addition, the orders may be receivedfrom other devices in communication with the exchange 130. That is,typically the exchange 130 will be in communication with a variety ofother client devices (which may be similar to client device 110) thatalso provide orders to be matched.

The exchange 130 is adapted to provide market data. The market data maybe provided to the client device 110, for example. The market data maybe provided to the client device 110 through the gateway 120, forexample. The market data may include data that represents the insidemarket, for example. The inside market is the lowest sell price (alsoreferred to as the “best ask”) and the highest buy price (also referredto as the “best bid”) at a particular point in time. The market data mayalso include market depth. Market depth refers to the quantitiesavailable at the inside market and may also refer to quantitiesavailable at other prices away from the inside market. Thus, the insidemarket may be considered the first level of market depth. One tick awayfrom the inside market may be considered the second level of marketdepth, for example. In certain embodiments, market depth is provided forall price levels. In certain embodiments, market depth is provided forless than all price levels. For example, market depth may be providedonly for the first five price levels on either side of the insidemarket. The market data may also include information such as the lasttraded price (LTP), the last traded quantity (LTQ), and order fillinformation.

In certain embodiments, the system 100 includes more than one clientdevice 110. For example, multiple client devices similar to the clientdevice 110, discussed above, may be in communication with the gateway120 to send orders to the exchange 130.

In certain embodiments, the system 100 includes more than one gateway120. For example, multiple gateways similar to the gateway 120,discussed above, may be in communication with the client device 110 andthe exchange 130. Such an arrangement may be used to provide redundancyshould one gateway 120 fail, for example.

In certain embodiments, the system 100 includes more than one exchange130. For example, the gateway 120 may be in communication with multipleexchanges similar to the exchange 130, discussed above. Such anarrangement may allow the client device 110 to trade at more than oneexchange through the gateway 120, for example.

In certain embodiments, the system 100 includes more than one exchange130 and more than one gateway 120. For example, multiple gatewayssimilar to the gateway 120, discussed above, may be in communicationwith multiple exchanges similar to the exchange 130, discussed above.Each gateway may be in communication with one or more differentexchanges, for example. Such an arrangement may allow one or more clientdevices 110 to trade at more than one exchange (and/or provide redundantconnections to multiple exchanges), for example.

In certain embodiments, the client device 110 includes one or morecomputing devices or processing components. In other words, thefunctionality of the client device 110 may be performed by more than onecomputing device. For example, one computing device may generate ordersto be sent to the exchange 130 while another computing device mayprovide a graphical user interface to a trader. In certain embodiments,the gateway 120 includes one or more computing devices or processingcomponents. In other words, the functionality of the gateway 120 may beperformed by more than one computing device. In certain embodiments, theexchange 130 includes one or more computing devices or processingcomponents. In other words, the functionality of the exchange 130 may beperformed by more than one computing device.

In certain embodiments, the gateway 120 is part of the client device110. For example, the components of the gateway 120 may be part of thesame computing platform as the client device 110. As another example,the functionality of the gateway 120 may be performed by components ofthe client device 110. In certain embodiments, the gateway 120 is notpresent. Such an arrangement may occur when the client device 110 doesnot need to utilize the gateway 120 to communicate with the exchange130, for example. For example, if the client device 110 has been adaptedto communicate directly with the exchange 130.

In certain embodiments, the gateway 120 is physically located at thesame site as the client device 110. In certain embodiments, the gateway120 is physically located at the same site as the exchange 130. Incertain embodiments, the client device 110 is physically located at thesame site as the exchange 130. In certain embodiments, the gateway 120is physically located at a site separate from both the client device 110and the exchange 130.

While not shown for the sake of clarity, in certain embodiments, thesystem 100 may include other devices that are specific to thecommunications architecture such as middleware, firewalls, hubs,switches, routers, exchange-specific communication equipment, modems,security managers, and/or encryption/decryption devices.

The components, elements, and/or functionality of the system 100discussed above may be implemented alone or in combination in variousforms in hardware, firmware, and/or as a set of instructions insoftware, for example. Certain embodiments may be provided as a set ofinstructions residing on a computer-readable medium, such as a memory,hard disk, CD-ROM, DVD, and/or EPROM, for execution on a general purposecomputer or other processing device.

II. Price Consolidation

As noted above, displaying a small range of price levels around theinside market may provide a trader with a narrow view of the market. Thetrader may view the market depth around the inside market, but thetrader may not be able to see the outstanding market depth at pricelevels further away from the inside market because, for example, thetrading screen may not be physically large enough (and/or a trader maynot want to provide enough screen area) to accommodate displaying all ofthe different price levels and their outstanding bid or ask quantities.

This problem may be accentuated depending on the “tick” size used by themarket or the client software. A tick generally refers to the smallesttradeable price level graduation in the market. A market may use anymeasure for a tick. For example, a tick may represent a fraction of adollar or another currency. As another example, a tick may represent adecimal portion of a dollar or another currency. When displaying smallerticks, the trading screen displays an increasingly narrow view of thecurrent market. For example, using a graduation of one cent, a tradermay only be able to see price levels a few cents away from the insidemarket. The market, however, may have bids and asks outstanding over arange of several dollars away from the inside market, but the trader maynot be able to see these other outstanding bids and asks due to thenarrow range of price levels within the viewable area of the tradingscreen.

One technique to allow a trader to see a wider range of price levels isprice consolidation. Exemplary trading screens that implement priceconsolidation are described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,127,424, entitled “ClickBased Trading With Intuitive Grid Display of Market Depth and PriceConsolidation,” filed on Oct. 5, 2001; U.S. Pat. No. 7,389,268, entitled“Trading Tools for Electronic Trading,” filed on Apr. 19, 2002; and U.S.Pat. No. 7,577,602, entitled “Method and Interface for ConsolidatingPrice Levels on a Trading Screen,” filed on Nov. 26, 2002, both of whichare herein incorporated by reference in their entirety.

In price consolidation, two or more price levels may be combined into asingle “consolidated” price level. That is, the consolidated price levelrepresents two or more price levels. Data related to the individualprice levels of the consolidated price level may be combined to obtainconsolidated data for the consolidated price level. For example, theconsolidated price level data may include a consolidated bid or askquantity that may be the sum of the outstanding quantities of theun-consolidated price levels combined to form the consolidated pricelevel. Using price consolidation, a trading screen may then displayinformation from a greater number of price levels on the trading screenthan it would be able to if it did not use price consolidation.

FIG. 2A illustrates a trading interface 200 with un-consolidated pricelevels. The trading interface 200 includes a price column 210, a bidquantity column 220, and an ask quantity column 230. The total quantityavailable to buy or sell at each price level along the price column 210is shown in the respective bid column 220 and ask column 230.

FIG. 2B illustrates a trading interface 250 with un-consolidated pricelevels. The trading interface 250 includes a market grid with a bidprice column 260, an ask price column 270, a bid quality column 280, andan ask quality column 290. The quantity available to buy at each pricelevel along the bid price column 260 is shown in the bid quantity column280. The quantity available to sell at teach price level along the askprice column 270 is shown in the ask quantity column 290.

FIG. 2C illustrates the trading interface 200 shown in FIG. 2Aindicating the price levels to be grouped using a price consolidationtechnique similar to an embodiment discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,127,424,referenced and incorporated above. Note that other groupings and/orother price consolidation techniques may be utilized to achieve a priceconsolidated display, as understood in the art.

FIG. 3A illustrates a trading interface 300 with consolidated pricelevels in which certain embodiments may be employed. More particularly,the trading interface 300 corresponds to the trading interface 200 withprice consolidation applied according to the groupings illustrated inFIG. 2C.

The trading interface 300 includes consolidated price level data 310 forconsolidated price level 106700. The consolidated price level data 310includes the consolidated price level 311 (106700), the consolidated bidquantity 312 (197), the consolidated ask quantity 313 (0), and theconsolidated working order data 314 (no working orders are present inthis example).

FIG. 3B illustrates a trading interface 350 with consolidated pricelevels in which certain embodiments may be employed. More particularly,the trading interface 350 corresponds to the trading interface 250 withprice consolidation applied according to the groupings illustrated inFIG. 2C.

The trading interface 350 includes consolidated price level data that isdifferent for the consolidated price levels based on whether they haveconsolidated bid quantity available or consolidated ask quantityavailable. In the former case, the consolidated price level dataincludes the consolidated bid quantity and the consolidated price level.In the latter case, the consolidated price level data includes theconsolidated price level and the consolidated ask quantity.

III. Expansion of a Consolidated Price Level

Certain embodiments provide consolidated price level expansion. In atrading interface including a consolidated price level, data associatedwith the individual price levels represented by the consolidated pricelevel is expanded and provided through an expanded consolidated pricelevel interface.

In certain embodiments, the expanded consolidated price level interfaceincludes a pop-up interface. The pop-up interface may be a window orgraphical object, for example. The pop-up interface may be displayedsuch that it appears to overlay at least in part, be on top of, or be infront of some or all of a trading interface, for example. Alternatively,the pop-up interface may be displayed in a screen region that does notoverlap a trading interface.

In certain embodiments, the expanded consolidated price level interfaceincludes an in-line interface. The in-line interface extends or replacesthe consolidated price level being expanded. The in-line interface isdisplayed such that it appears to be (or is) an integrated part of atrading interface.

An expanded consolidated price level interface is generated in responseto a command from a user. The expanded consolidated price levelinterface is generated for one or more consolidated price levels. Forexample, the expanded consolidated price level interface may begenerated for a price level associated with the command. As anotherexample, the expanded consolidated price level interface may begenerated for a consolidated price level associated with the location ofa cursor and two adjacent consolidated price levels.

The expanded consolidated price level interface is generated based onsome or all of the data associated with the price levels represented bythe consolidated price level to be expanded, as discussed in more detailbelow.

The generated expanded consolidated price level interface is thendisplayed. As discussed above, the expanded consolidated price levelinterface may be a window or graphical object and may appear to be (orbe) an integrated part of a trading interface.

The command may be an input from a user input device. For example, theinput may include a key press, mouse movement, mouse click, or tap on atouch screen.

For example, the expanded consolidated price level interface may begenerated and then displayed in response to a user pressing a key on akeyboard.

As another example, the expanded consolidated price level interface maybe generated and then displayed in response to a user clicking a middlemouse button while a cursor is positioned in a region or area associatedwith a consolidated price level. The region or area associated with theconsolidated price level may be include a price column, a quantitycolumn and/or other columns associated with the consolidated pricelevel, for example.

As another example, the expanded consolidated price level interface maybe generated and then displayed automatically. For example, uponreceiving a command to position a cursor in a region or area associatedwith a consolidated price level, the expanded consolidated price levelinterface may be generated and then displayed automatically. As anotherexample, the consolidated price level for which the expandedconsolidated price level interface is displayed may change automaticallywhen the cursor is moved into a region or area associated with adifferent consolidated price level.

As another example, the expanded consolidated price level interface maybe generated and then displayed in response to a cursor being positionedover a consolidated price level for a particular period of time. Thismay happen when the cursor hovers in the same, or approximately thesame, location for the particular time period, for example.Alternatively, this may happen when the cursor remains within an areaassociated with a consolidated price level for the particular period oftime (for example, over a consolidated price displayed in a pricecolumn). The particular period of time may be predetermined orconfigured by a user, for example. For example, the particular period oftime may be predetermined to be 0.25 or 0.5 seconds. As another example,the particular period of time may be configured by a user to be a valuebetween 0.1 and 5.0 seconds. As another example, the particular periodof time may be at least 0.6 seconds.

As another example, the expanded consolidated price level interface maybe generated and then displayed in response to a touch screen input.While a touch screen may not necessarily provide a cursor, a user maytap or otherwise provide an input to the touch screen in a region orarea associated with the consolidated price level and, in response, theexpanded consolidated price level interface may be displayed.

In certain embodiments, the expanded consolidated price level interfaceis displayed in relation to the location of a cursor (or the location ofa touch screen input). For example, a pop-up interface may be displayedapproximately adjacent to the cursor. As another example, the expandedconsolidated price level interface may be displayed under the cursor.

In certain embodiments, the expanded consolidated price level interfaceis displayed in relation to the consolidated price level to which itcorresponds. For example, in a pop-up interface, the expanded pricelevel corresponding to the same price as the consolidated price levelbeing expanded may be displayed approximately adjacent to each other. Asanother example, if a consolidated price level is identified as pricelevel 1000 and includes price levels 995, 996, 997, 998, 999, and 1000,then the expanded consolidated price level interface may be displayedsuch that the expanded price level 1000 is approximately adjacent to thedisplayed consolidated price level 1000.

In certain embodiments, the expanded consolidated price level interfaceis displayed in place of the consolidated price level to which itcorresponds. For example, an in-line interface may replace theconsolidated price level being expanded in the trading interfacedisplay. As another example, if a consolidated price level is identifiedas price level 1000 and includes price levels 995, 996, 997, 998, 999,and 1000, then the expanded consolidated price level interface may bedisplayed such that the expanded price level 1000 is displayed in placeof the consolidated price level 1000 (along with the other expandedprice levels also being displayed).

In certain embodiments, the expanded consolidated price level interfaceis displayed at a predefined location on the screen. For example, theexpanded consolidated price level interface may be displayed in adesignated expanded consolidated price level display area in a tradinginterface. When a new consolidated price level is selected, the newexpanded consolidated price levels may be displayed in that same displayarea. As another example, the predefined location may be a locationseparate from the trading interface, such as a separate, speciallydesignated window.

In certain embodiments, more than one expanded consolidated price levelinterface is displayed. For example, a user may provide a command todisplay an expanded consolidated price level interface for more than oneconsolidated price level. In certain embodiments, when a command isreceived to display an expanded consolidated price level interface, anyother displayed expanded consolidated price level interface is closedand/or removed from display. For example, when a user moves a cursorfrom a region associated with one consolidated price level into a regionassociated with another consolidated price level, a displayed expandedconsolidated price level interface for the first consolidated pricelevel may be hidden or closed and a new expanded consolidated pricelevel interface may be displayed for the second consolidated pricelevel.

In certain embodiments, the expanded consolidated price level interfaceincludes all of the data related to the price levels included in theconsolidated price level being expanded. For example, if a tradinginterface provides the following consolidated price level data:consolidated price level, consolidated bid and ask quantity data, andconsolidated working order data, then the expanded consolidated pricelevel interface would include the individual price levels along with thebid and ask quantity data and the working order data for each of theexpanded price levels.

In certain embodiments, the expanded consolidated price level interfaceincludes a subset of the data related to the price levels included inthe consolidated price level being expanded. For example, the expandedconsolidated price level interface may include one or more of the bidquantity data, ask quantity data, working order data, and the individualprice levels. As another example, an expanded consolidated price levelinterface may include just the bid quantity data and the individualexpanded price levels. As another example, an expanded consolidatedprice level interface may include just the bid and ask quantity data,without any working order data or the individual expanded price levels.As another example, an expanded consolidated price level interface mayinclude working order data, the individual expanded price levels, andonly the bid or ask quantity data if any non-zero values are availablefor any of the individual expanded price levels. As another example, anexpanded consolidated price level interface may include alternativerepresentations of the consolidated data, such as a shortened orabbreviated representation of the price level or quantity data.

In certain embodiments, the expanded consolidated price level interfaceincludes one or more indicators to identify the displayed information asbeing for expanded consolidated price levels. For example, a border maybe displayed around the expanded consolidated price level interface tovisually offset it from other portions of a trading interface. Theborder may be a different thickness and/or color, for example. Asanother example, data displayed in the expanded consolidated price levelinterface may be displayed using different colors (or with differentbackgrounds colors, shading, and/or transparency) from other datadisplayed in a trading interface. Where the trading interface maydisplay bid quantity data with a blue background and ask quantity datawith a red background, the expanded consolidated price level interfacemay display the bid quantity data for the expanded consolidated pricelevels with a light blue background and the ask quantity data with apink background, for example.

In certain embodiments, the expanded consolidated price level interfacedisplays current data for the displayed expanded consolidated pricelevels. For example, the expanded consolidated price level interface mayperiodically update the bid and ask quantity data based on updatedvalues that have been received. As another example, the expandedconsolidated price level interface may reflect changes in working orderdata as updated values are received. In certain embodiments, theexpanded consolidated price level interface displays a fixed snapshot ofthe data for the displayed expanded consolidated price levels. Forexample, while the trading interface may reflect changes in bid and askquantity as updated values are received, the expanded consolidated pricelevel interface may not update its displayed data.

In certain embodiments, a command may be received in order to maintainthe display of the expanded consolidated price level interface so thatit may be interacted with. For example, a user may hold down a key sothat, when moving the cursor from a consolidated price level to theexpanded consolidated price level interface, the expanded consolidatedprice level interface does not move, close, and/or stop being displayedas a consequence of the user moving the cursor to the expandedconsolidated price level interface.

In certain embodiments, an order may be entered using the expandedconsolidated price level interface. For example, an order may be placedby clicking on an expanded price level or in an expanded bid or askquantity column. In certain embodiments, an order may be manipulatedusing the expanded consolidated price level interface. For example, anorder's price may be changed by moving or dragging it from one expandedprice level to another expanded price level (within the same expandedconsolidated price level interface or an expanded consolidated pricelevel interface for a different consolidated price level) or to anotherconsolidated price level. As another example, an order may be cancelled(or the quantity changed) using the expanded consolidated price levelinterface.

FIG. 4 illustrates a trading interface 400 according to certainembodiments. The trading interface 400 is similar to the tradinginterface 300 discussed above.

The trading interface 400 includes two expanded consolidated price levelinterfaces, a first pop-up interface 420 and a second pop-up interface430. Cursor 410 is also illustrated.

The first pop-up interface 420 displays an expansion of a consolidatedprice level of the trading interface 400. In particular, as illustratedin FIG. 4, the first pop-up interface 420 displays four price levels 421(106825, 106850, 106875, and 106900) included in consolidated pricelevel 106900. In addition, the first pop-up interface 420 displays thecorresponding expanded bid quantities 422 and ask quantities 423 at theexpanded price levels 421. The first pop-up interface 420 is displayedin proximity to the cursor 410. The first pop-up interface 420 is alsodisplayed with a thicker border to visually distinguish it from otherportions of the trading interface 400.

The second pop-up interface 430 displays an expansion of anotherconsolidated price level of the trading interface 400. In particular, asillustrated in FIG. 4, the second pop-up interface 430 displays datacorresponding to four price levels (107625, 107650, 107675, and 107700)included in consolidated price level 107700. Note, however, that theactual price levels are not displayed in the second pop-up interface430. Rather, the particular price levels are implicit, with the top rowof the second pop-up interface 430 corresponding to expanded price level107700 and approximately aligned with the consolidated price level107700. The second pop-up interface 430 displays two columnscorresponding to the bid and ask quantities at the expanded pricelevels. The second pop-up interface 430 is also displayed with a thickerborder to visually distinguish it from other portions of the tradinginterface 400.

FIG. 5 illustrates a trading interface 500 according to certainembodiments. The trading interface 500 is similar to the tradinginterface 350 discussed above.

The trading interface 500 includes an expanded consolidated price levelinterface, pop-up interface 520. Cursor 510 is also illustrated.

The pop-up interface 520 displays an expansion of a consolidated pricelevel of the trading interface 500. In particular, as illustrated inFIG. 5, the pop-up interface 520 displays four price levels (106700,106725, 106750, and 106775) included in consolidated price level 106700.Note, however, that price levels are shown in an alternativerepresentation, where the leading “10” digits are omitted. Such analternative representation may allow the pop-up interface 520 to besmaller and obscure less of the trading interface 500, for example. Inaddition, the pop-up interface 520 displays the corresponding expandedbid quantities at the expanded price levels. The pop-up interface 520 isdisplayed “under” to the cursor 510.

FIG. 6 illustrates a trading interface 600 according to certainembodiments. The trading interface 600 is similar to the tradinginterface 300 discussed above.

The trading interface 600 includes an expanded consolidated price levelinterface, pop-up interface 620. Cursor 610 is also illustrated alongwith a consolidated working order indicator 630. The consolidatedworking order indicator 630 represents consolidated working order data(a quantity of 7 working and 1 filled) for the consolidated price level106800.

The pop-up interface 620 displays an expansion of a consolidated pricelevel of the trading interface 600. In particular, as illustrated inFIG. 6, the pop-up interface 620 displays data corresponding to fourprice levels (106725, 106750, 106775, and 106800) included inconsolidated price level 106800. Note, however, that the actual pricelevels are not displayed in the pop-up interface 620. Rather, theparticular price levels are implicit, with the top row of the pop-upinterface 620 corresponding to expanded price level 106800 andapproximately aligned with the consolidated price level 106800. Thepop-up interface 620 displays a single column expanding the workingorder data represented by the consolidated working order indicator 630by showing working order indicators corresponding to the working ordersentered at each respective price level of the consolidated price level106800. Note that the second row from the top of the pop-up interface620, corresponding to price level 106775, does not include a workingorder indicator because no working orders are entered at that pricelevel. The pop-up interface 620 is displayed automatically when thecursor 610 is positioned over the consolidated working order indicator630. The pop-up interface 620 is displayed with a thicker border tovisually distinguish it from other portions of the trading interface600.

FIG. 7 illustrates a trading interface 700 according to certainembodiments. The trading interface 700 is similar to the tradinginterface 300 discussed above.

The trading interface 700 includes an expanded consolidated price levelinterface, in-line interface 720. Cursor 710 is also illustrated.

The inline-interface 720 displays an expansion of a consolidated pricelevel of the trading interface 700. In particular, as illustrated inFIG. 7, the in-line interface 720 displays four price levels (106825,106850, 106875, and 106900) included in consolidated price level 106900.In addition, the in-line interface 720 displays all of the consolidateddata at the at the corresponding expanded price levels: bid and askquantities, working order data (none are present in the illustratedcase), and last traded price (“LTP”). The in-line interface 720 isdisplayed automatically when the cursor 710 is positioned over theconsolidated price level 106900. Note that the in-line interface 720displays the expanded price levels over the other consolidated pricelevels and does not shift the position of those consolidated pricelevels. The in-line interface 720 displays the expanded price levelswith a different background color to distinguish them from theconsolidated price levels. The in-line interface 720 is also displayedwith a thicker and differently colored and styled border to visuallydistinguish it from other portions of the trading interface 700.

FIG. 8 illustrates a trading interface 800 according to certainembodiments. The trading interface 800 is similar to the tradinginterface 350 discussed above.

The trading interface 800 includes an expanded consolidated price levelinterface, in-line interface 820. Cursor 810 is also illustrated.

The inline-interface 820 displays an expansion of a consolidated pricelevel of the trading interface 800. In particular, as illustrated inFIG. 8, the in-line interface 820 displays four price levels (106800,106825, 106850, and 106875) included in consolidated price level 106800.In addition, the in-line interface 820 displays the correspondingexpanded bid quantities at the expanded price levels. Because theconsolidated price level 106800 would have been at the top row (as shownin FIG. 3B), when the in-line interface 820 was displayed, the expandedrows were inserted and the consolidated price levels were shifted downto make room. In addition, the cursor was repositioned to the expandedprice level 106800 corresponding to the consolidated price level 106800.The in-line interface 820 displays the expanded data (price levels andbid quantity) with a different background color to distinguish them fromthe data associated with the consolidated price levels of the tradinginterface 800.

FIG. 9 illustrates a trading interface 900 according to certainembodiments. The trading interface 900 is similar to the tradinginterface 300 discussed above.

The trading interface 900 includes an expanded consolidated price levelinterface, in-line interface 920. Cursor 910 is also illustrated.

The inline-interface 920 displays an expansion of a consolidated pricelevel of the trading interface 900. In particular, as illustrated inFIG. 9, the in-line interface 920 displays data corresponding to fourprice levels (106725, 106750, 106775, and 106800) included inconsolidated price level 106800. Note, however, that the actual pricelevels are not displayed in the in-line interface 920. Rather, theparticular price levels are implicit, with the top row of the in-lineinterface 920 corresponding to expanded price level 106800. The in-lineinterface 920 displays a single column expanding the working order datafor the consolidated price level 106800 by showing working orderindicators corresponding to the working orders entered at eachrespective price level of the consolidated price level 106800. Note thatthe second row from the top of the in-line interface 920, correspondingto price level 106775, does not include a working order indicatorbecause no working orders are entered at that price level. The in-lineinterface 920 is displayed in response to a key press from a user toexpand all consolidated working order data in the trading interface 900.

IV. Example Embodiments

FIG. 10 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary client device 1000according to an embodiment. The client device 1000 may be similar to theclient device 100 discussed above, for example.

The client device 1000 includes a bus 1010, a processor 1020, a memory1030, a network interface 1040, a display device 1050, an input device1060, and an output device 1070. The client device 1000 may includeadditional, different, or fewer components. For example, multiple buses,multiple processors, multiple memory devices, multiple networkinterfaces, multiple display devices, multiple input devices, multipleoutput devices, or any combination thereof, may be provided. As anotherexample, the client device 1000 may not include an output device 1070separate from the display device 1050. As another example, the clientdevice 1000 may not include an input device 1060. Instead, for example,the client device 1000 may be controlled by an external or remote inputdevice via the network interface 1040.

The bus 1010 may include a communication bus, channel, network, circuit,switch, fabric, or other mechanism for communicating data betweencomponents in the client device 1000. The bus 1010 may becommunicatively coupled with and transfer data between any of thecomponents of the client device 1000. For example, during aninstallation process of a trading application, one or morecomputer-readable instructions that are to be executed by the processor1020 may be transferred from an input device 1060 and/or the networkinterface 1040 to the memory 1030. When the client device 1000 isrunning or preparing to run the trading application stored in the memory1030, the processor 1020 may retrieve the instructions from the memory1030 via the bus 1010.

The processor 1020 may include a general processor, digital signalprocessor, application specific integrated circuit, field programmablegate array, analog circuit, digital circuit, programmed processor,combinations thereof, or other now known or later developed processingdevice. The processor 1020 may be a single device or a combination ofdevices, such as associated with a network or distributed processing.Any processing strategy may be used, such as multi-processing,multi-tasking, parallel processing, and/or remote processing, forexample. Processing may be local or remote and may be moved from oneprocessor to another processor.

The processor 1020 may be operable to execute logic encoded in one ormore tangible media, such as memory 1030 and/or via network device 1040.As used herein, logic encoded in one or more tangible media includesinstructions that are executable by the processor 1020 or a differentprocessor. The logic may be stored as part of software, hardware,integrated circuits, firmware, and/or micro-code, for example. The logicmay be received from an external communication device via acommunication network, for example, connected to the Internet. Theprocessor 1020 may execute the logic to perform the functions, acts, ortasks illustrated in the figures or described herein.

The memory 1030 may be tangible media, such as computer readable storagemedia, for example. Computer readable storage media may include varioustypes of volatile and non-volatile storage media, including but notlimited to random access memory, read-only memory, programmableread-only memory, electrically programmable read-only memory,electrically erasable read-only memory, flash memory, magnetic tape ordisk, optical media, any combination thereof, or any other now known orlater developed tangible data storage device. The memory 1030 mayinclude a single device or multiple devices. For example, the memory1030 may include random access memory and hard drive storage. The memory1030 may be adjacent to, part of, programmed with, networked with,and/or remote from processor 1020, such that data stored in the memory1030 may be retrieved and processed by the processor 1020, for example.

The memory 1030 may store instructions that are executable by theprocessor 1020. The instructions may be executed to perform one or moreof the acts or functions described herein or shown in the figures.

The network interface 1040 may be a one-way or two-way communicationcoupling. Accordingly, the network interface 1040 may communicativelyconnect one, two, or more communication networks or devices. Forexample, the bus 1010 may be coupled with a gateway similar to gateway120 discussed above via the network interface 1040, such that one, some,or all of the components of the computing device 1000 are accessible orcan communicate with the gateway. As another example, the networkinterface 1040 may couple the bus 1010 with other communicationnetworks. The network interface 1040 may be, for example, an integratedservices digital network (ISDN) card or a modem to provide a datacommunication connection. As another example, network interface 1040 maybe a local area network (LAN) card to provide a data communicationconnection to a compatible LAN, for example, connected to the Internet.Wireless links may also be implemented. The network interface 1040 maysend and receive electrical, electromagnetic, or optical signals thatcarry analog or digital data streams representing various type ofinformation, for example.

The display device 1050 may include a visual output device, cathode raytube (CRT) display, electronic display, electronic paper, flat paneldisplay, light-emitting diode (LED) displays, electroluminescent display(ELD), plasma display panels (PDP), liquid crystal display (LCD),thin-film transistor displays (TFT), organic light-emitting diodedisplays (OLED), surface-conduction electron-emitter display (SED),laser television, carbon nanotubes, nanocrystal displays, head-mounteddisplay, projector, three-dimensional display, transparent displaydevice, and/or other now known or later developed display, for example.

The display device 1050 is adapted to display a trading screen. Thetrading screen may be similar to the trading screens discussed above,for example. The trading screen may be interactive. An interactivetrading screen may allow, for example, one or more trading actions to beperformed using the trading screen. For example, an interactive tradingscreen may allow one or more order entry parameters to be set and/orsent using one or more order entry actions. The display device 1050and/or input device 1060 may be used to interact with the tradingscreen, for example.

The input device 1060 may include a keyboard, mouse, microphone,touch-screen, trackball, keypad, joystick, and/or other device forproviding input, for example. The input device 1060 may be used, forexample, to provide command selections to processor 1020. For example,the input device 1060 may be a mouse that is used to control a cursordisplayed on a trading screen. The mouse may include one or more buttonsfor selection and control, for example.

The output device 1070 may include a keyboard, mouse, speakers,touch-screen, trackball, keypad, haptic device or system, joystick,and/or other device for providing output, for example. For example, theoutput device 1070 may be used to output one or more signals, such as ahaptic signal or an audio signal, to a user.

FIG. 11 illustrates a block diagram for an example system 1100 accordingto an embodiment. The system 1100 includes a consolidated price leveldisplay component 1110, an expanded consolidated price level interfacecomponent 1120, and a user input processing component 1130.

The expanded consolidated price level interface component 1120 is incommunication with the consolidated price level display component 1110and the user input processing component 1130.

In operation, the consolidated price level display component 1110 isadapted to display consolidated price level data. The consolidated pricelevel data is for a consolidated price level representing at least twoprice levels of a tradeable object. The consolidated price level dataincludes consolidated data based on the data associated with the atleast two price levels of the consolidated price level.

The consolidated price level display component 1110 may be part of atrading application which displays the consolidated price level data ina trading interface similar to those discussed above, for example.

The expanded consolidated price level interface component 1120 isadapted to generate an expanded consolidated price level interface. Theexpanded consolidated price level interface may be similar to theexpanded consolidated price level interfaces discussed above, forexample.

The expanded consolidated price level interface component 1120 generatesthe expanded consolidated price level interface for a consolidated pricelevel displayed by the consolidated price level display component 1110.The expanded consolidated price level interface component 1120 generatesthe expanded consolidated price level interface based on some or all ofthe data associated with the price levels represented by theconsolidated price level to be expanded.

The expanded consolidated price level interface component 1120 isadapted to display the generated expanded consolidated price levelinterface. The expanded consolidated price level interface component1120 may be part of a trading application which displays the expandedconsolidated price level interface in a trading interface similar tothose discussed above, for example.

The user input processing component 1130 is adapted to process inputfrom a user. The input may be received from a user input device, forexample. The user input processing component 1130 is adapted todetermine if a command to generate and display an expanded consolidatedprice level interface is received in the input. If so, the command isprovided to the expanded consolidated price level interface component1120 so that the expanded consolidated price level interface may begenerated in response to the command.

In certain embodiments, the user input processing component 1130 isadapted to determine if a command to maintain the display of theexpanded consolidated price level interface so that it may be interactedwith is received in the input. If so, the command is provided to theexpanded consolidated price level interface component 1120 so that theexpanded consolidated price level interface may be interacted with.

In certain embodiments, the user input processing component 1130 isadapted to determine if a command to enter and/or manipulate an orderusing the expanded consolidated price level interface is received in theinput. If so, the command may be provided to a trading application sothat an order may be generated, altered, and/or cancelled in response tothe command.

The components, elements, and/or functionality of the system 1100discussed above may be implemented alone or in combination in variousforms in hardware, firmware, and/or as a set of instructions insoftware, for example. Certain embodiments may be provided as a set ofinstructions residing on a computer-readable medium, such as a memory,hard disk, CD-ROM, DVD, and/or EPROM, for execution on a general purposecomputer or other processing device.

FIG. 12 illustrates a flowchart 1200 of a method according to anembodiment. The method includes the following steps which will bedescribed below in more detail. At step 1210, consolidated price leveldata is displayed. At step 1220, a command is received. At step 1230, anexpanded consolidated price level interface is generated. At step 1240,an expanded consolidated price level interface is displayed. At step1250, an order command is received. At step 1260, an order is generated.The method is described with reference to elements of systems discussedabove, but it should be understood that other implementations arepossible.

At step 1210, consolidated price level data is displayed. Theconsolidated price level data may be displayed by a consolidated pricelevel display component similar to the consolidated price level displaycomponent 1110 discussed above, for example. The consolidated pricelevel data is for a consolidated price level representing at least twoprice levels of a tradeable object. The consolidated price level dataincludes consolidated data based on the data associated with the atleast two price levels of the consolidated price level.

The consolidated price level data may be displayed in a tradinginterface similar to those discussed above, for example.

At step 1220, a command is received. The command may be received by auser input processing component similar to the user input processingcomponent 1130 discussed above, for example. The command may be similarto the command to generate and display an expanded consolidated pricelevel interface discussed above, for example.

At step 1230, an expanded consolidated price level interface isgenerated. The expanded consolidated price level interface may begenerated by an expanded consolidated price level interface componentsimilar to the expanded consolidated price level interface component1120 discussed above, for example. The expanded consolidated price levelinterface is generated in response to the command received at step 1220discussed above.

The expanded consolidated price level interface may be similar to theexpanded consolidated price level interfaces discussed above, forexample. The expanded consolidated price level interface is generatedfor a consolidated price level. The consolidated price level may be theconsolidated price level displayed at step 1210 discussed above, forexample. The expanded consolidated price level interface is generatedbased on some or all of the data associated with the price levelsrepresented by the consolidated price level to be expanded.

At step 1240, an expanded consolidated price level interface isdisplayed. The expanded consolidated price level interface may bedisplayed by an expanded consolidated price level interface componentsimilar to the expanded consolidated price level interface component1120, discussed above, for example. The expanded consolidated pricelevel interface may be displayed in a trading interface similar to thosediscussed above, for example.

At step 1250, an order command is received. The order command may bereceived by a user input processing component similar to the user inputprocessing component 1130 discussed above, for example. The ordercommand may be a command to enter and/or manipulate an order using theexpanded consolidated price level interface.

At step 1260, an order is generated. The order is generated in responseto the order command received at step 1250 discussed above. The ordermay be generated by a trading application based on the order command.

In certain embodiments, the order command is a command to manipulateand/or cancel an existing order rather than place a new order, in whichcase a message to manipulate and/or cancel the order is generated ratherthan generating a new order.

One or more of the steps of the method 1200 discussed above may beimplemented alone or in combination in various forms in hardware,firmware, and/or as a set of instructions in software, for example.Certain embodiments may be provided as a set of instructions residing ona computer-readable medium, such as a memory, hard disk, CD-ROM, DVD,and/or EPROM, for execution on a general purpose computer or otherprocessing device.

Certain embodiments may omit one or more of these steps and/or performthe steps in a different order than the order listed. For example, somesteps may not be performed in certain embodiments. As a further example,certain steps may be performed in a different temporal order, includingsimultaneously, than listed above.

While the present inventions have been described with reference tocertain embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the artthat various changes may be made and equivalents may be substitutedwithout departing from the scope of the inventions. In addition, manymodifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material tothe teachings of the inventions without departing from their scope.Therefore, it is intended that the inventions not be limited to theparticular embodiments disclosed, but that the inventions will includeall embodiments falling within the scope of the claims.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A system including: a computing device,wherein the computing device is configured to display consolidated pricelevel data for a consolidated price level, wherein the consolidatedprice level represents at least two price levels of a tradeable object,wherein the consolidated price level data includes consolidated data forthe at least two price levels; wherein the computing device isconfigured to receive a command; wherein the computing device isconfigured to generate an expanded consolidated price level interfacefor the consolidated price level automatically in response to thecommand, wherein the expanded consolidated price level interfaceincludes un-consolidated data associated with each of the at least twoprice levels of the consolidated price level; wherein the computingdevice is configured to display the expanded consolidated price levelinterface automatically in response to generating the expandedconsolidated price level interface, wherein a first price level of theat least two price levels corresponds to the consolidated price level,wherein the expanded consolidated price level interface is positionedsuch that the first price level is aligned with the consolidated pricelevel; wherein the computing device is configured to receive a secondcommand; wherein the computing device is configured to generate a secondexpanded consolidated price level interface for a second consolidatedprice level automatically in response to the second command, wherein thesecond consolidated price level represents at least two other pricelevels of the tradeable object, wherein the second expanded consolidatedprice level interface includes un-consolidated data associated with eachof the at least two other price levels of the second consolidated pricelevel; and wherein the computing device is configured to display thesecond expanded consolidated price level interface automatically inresponse to generating the second expanded consolidated price levelinterface, wherein a second price level of the at least two other pricelevels corresponds to the second consolidated price level, wherein thesecond expanded consolidated price level interface is positioned suchthat the second price level is aligned with the second consolidatedprice level.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the expanded consolidatedprice level interface is a pop-up interface.
 3. The system of claim 1,wherein the expanded consolidated price level interface is an in-lineinterface.
 4. The system of claim 1, wherein the command is receivedfrom a user input device.
 5. The system of claim 1, wherein the commandincludes positioning a cursor in a region associated with theconsolidated price level data.
 6. The system of claim 5, wherein thepositioning of the cursor is based on an input from a touch screen. 7.The system of claim 5, wherein the expanded consolidated price levelinterface is displayed automatically in response to the positioning ofthe cursor.
 8. The system of claim 5, wherein the expanded consolidatedprice level interface is displayed automatically after the cursor hasbeen positioned in the region associated with the consolidated pricelevel data for a predetermined period of time.
 9. The system of claim 1,wherein the expanded consolidated price level interface is displayedbased on a location of a cursor.
 10. The system of claim 1, wherein theexpanded consolidated price level interface is displayed in place of theconsolidated price level data.
 11. The system of claim 1, wherein theexpanded consolidated price level interface is displayed at a predefinedlocation.
 12. The system of claim 1, wherein the expanded consolidatedprice level interface includes all of the un-consolidated dataassociated with each of the at least two price levels of theconsolidated price level.
 13. The system of claim 1, wherein theexpanded consolidated price level interface includes a subset of theun-consolidated data associated with each of the at least two pricelevels of the consolidated price level.
 14. The system of claim 1,wherein the computing device is further configured to stop displayingthe second expanded consolidated price level interface, wherein thesecond expanded consolidated price level interface was already displayedat the time the command was received.
 15. The system of claim 1, whereinthe un-consolidated data of the expanded consolidated price levelinterface is updated when updated market data is received.
 16. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the expanded consolidated price levelinterface is configured to receive an order command to place an orderfor the tradeable object.
 17. A method including: displaying by acomputing device consolidated price level data for a consolidated pricelevel, wherein the consolidated price level represents at least twoprice levels of a tradeable object, wherein the consolidated price leveldata includes consolidated data for the at least two price levels;receiving by the computing device a command; generating by the computingdevice an expanded consolidated price level interface for theconsolidated price level automatically in response to the command,wherein the expanded consolidated price level interface includesun-consolidated data associated with each of the at least two pricelevels of the consolidated price level; displaying by the computingdevice the expanded consolidated price level interface automatically inresponse to generating the expanded consolidated price level interface,wherein a first price level of the at least two price levels correspondsto the consolidated price level, wherein the expanded consolidated pricelevel interface is positioned such that the first price level is alignedwith the consolidated price level; receiving by the computing device asecond command; generating by the computing device a second expandedconsolidated price level interface for a second consolidated price levelautomatically in response to the second command, wherein the secondconsolidated price level represents at least two other price levels ofthe tradeable object, wherein the second expanded consolidated pricelevel interface includes un-consolidated data associated with each ofthe at least two other price levels of the second consolidated pricelevel; and displaying by the computing device the second expandedconsolidated price level interface automatically in response togenerating the second expanded consolidated price level interface,wherein a second price level of the at least two other price levelscorresponds to the second consolidated price level, wherein the secondexpanded consolidated price level interface is positioned such that thesecond price level is aligned with the second consolidated price level.18. The method of claim 17, wherein the expanded consolidated pricelevel interface is a pop-up interface.
 19. The method of claim 17,wherein the expanded consolidated price level interface is an in-lineinterface.
 20. The method of claim 17, wherein the command is receivedfrom a user input device.
 21. The method of claim 17, wherein thecommand includes positioning a cursor in a region associated with theconsolidated price level data.
 22. The method of claim 21, wherein thepositioning of the cursor is based on an input from a touch screen. 23.The method of claim 21, wherein the expanded consolidated price levelinterface is displayed automatically in response to the positioning ofthe cursor.
 24. The method of claim 21, wherein the expandedconsolidated price level interface is displayed automatically after thecursor has been positioned in the region associated with theconsolidated price level data for a predetermined period of time. 25.The method of claim 17, wherein the expanded consolidated price levelinterface is displayed based on a location of a cursor.
 26. The methodof claim 17, wherein the expanded consolidated price level interface isdisplayed in place of the consolidated price level data.
 27. The methodof claim 17, wherein the expanded consolidated price level interface isdisplayed at a predefined location.
 28. The method of claim 17, whereinthe expanded consolidated price level interface includes all of theun-consolidated data associated with each of the at least two pricelevels of the consolidated price level.
 29. The method of claim 17,wherein the expanded consolidated price level interface includes asubset of the un-consolidated data associated with each of the at leasttwo price levels of the consolidated price level.
 30. The method ofclaim 17, further including stopping displaying by the computing devicethe second expanded consolidated price level interface, wherein thesecond expanded consolidated price level interface was already displayedat the time the command was received.
 31. The method of claim 17,wherein the un-consolidated data of the expanded consolidated pricelevel interface is updated when updated market data is received.
 32. Themethod of claim 17, wherein the expanded consolidated price levelinterface is configured to receive an order command to place an orderfor the tradeable object.
 33. A non-transitory computer readable mediumhaving stored therein instructions executable by a processor, includinginstructions executable to: display consolidated price level data for aconsolidated price level, wherein the consolidated price levelrepresents at least two price levels of a tradeable object, wherein theconsolidated price level data includes consolidated data for the atleast two price levels; receive a command; generate an expandedconsolidated price level interface for the consolidated price levelautomatically in response to the command, wherein the expandedconsolidated price level interface includes un-consolidated dataassociated with each of the at least two price levels of theconsolidated price level; display the expanded consolidated price levelinterface automatically in response to generating the expandedconsolidated price level interface, wherein a first price level of theat least two price levels corresponds to the consolidated price level,wherein the expanded consolidated price level interface is positionedsuch that the first price level is aligned with the consolidated pricelevel; receive a second command; generate a second expanded consolidatedprice level interface for a second consolidated price levelautomatically in response to the second command, wherein the secondconsolidated price level represents at least two other price levels ofthe tradeable object, wherein the second expanded consolidated pricelevel interface includes un-consolidated data associated with each ofthe at least two other price levels of the second consolidated pricelevel; and display the second expanded consolidated price levelinterface automatically in response to generating the second expandedconsolidated price level interface, wherein a second price level of theat least two other price levels corresponds to the second consolidatedprice level, wherein the second expanded consolidated price levelinterface is positioned such that the second price level is aligned withthe second consolidated price level.
 34. The non-transitory computerreadable medium of claim 33, wherein the expanded consolidated pricelevel interface is a pop-up interface.
 35. The non-transitory computerreadable medium of claim 33, wherein the expanded consolidated pricelevel interface is an in-line interface.
 36. The non-transitory computerreadable medium of claim 33, wherein the command is received from a userinput device.
 37. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim33, wherein the command includes positioning a cursor in a regionassociated with the consolidated price level data.
 38. Thenon-transitory computer readable medium of claim 37, wherein thepositioning of the cursor is based on an input from a touch screen. 39.The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 37, wherein theexpanded consolidated price level interface is displayed automaticallyin response to the positioning of the cursor.
 40. The non-transitorycomputer readable medium of claim 37, wherein the expanded consolidatedprice level interface is displayed automatically after the cursor hasbeen positioned in the region associated with the consolidated pricelevel data for a predetermined period of time.
 41. The non-transitorycomputer readable medium of claim 33, wherein the expanded consolidatedprice level interface is displayed based on a location of a cursor. 42.The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 33, wherein theexpanded consolidated price level interface is displayed in place of theconsolidated price level data.
 43. The non-transitory computer readablemedium of claim 33, wherein the expanded consolidated price levelinterface is displayed at a predefined location.
 44. The non-transitoryreadable medium of claim 33, wherein the expanded consolidated pricelevel interface includes all of the un-consolidated data associated witheach of the at least two price levels of the consolidated price level.45. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 33, wherein theexpanded consolidated price level interface includes a subset of theun-consolidated data associated with each of the at least two pricelevels of the consolidated price level.
 46. The non-transitory computerreadable medium of claim 33, further including instructions executableto stop displaying the second expanded consolidated price levelinterface, wherein the second expanded consolidated price levelinterface was already displayed at the time the command was received.47. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 33, wherein theun-consolidated data of the expanded consolidated price level interfaceis updated when updated market data is received.
 48. The non-transitorycomputer readable medium of claim 33, wherein the expanded consolidatedprice level interface is configured to receive an order command to placean order for the tradeable object.